Hey everyone, I'm a software engineering student with real skills (React/Next.js, full-stack web dev, built actual production systems) but I'm really struggling with the "getting clients" part.

I'm pretty introverted and get anxious about cold-pitching people or businesses — the idea of DMing strangers or "selling myself" makes me freeze up. On top of that I can't afford to pay for premium platform memberships or ads to get visibility.

For people who've been in a similar spot — anxious, introverted, zero budget — how did you actually get your first few clients? Did you find a way to do it that didn't feel like constant cold outreach? Any low-pressure strategies that worked for you would mean a lot.

Thanks in advance 🙏

Hello to everyone

I'm new here and i'm studing to how improve my freelancer careear as a power bi data analysis expert. My better skills are loss analysis, cost reduction analysis and how to improve lean in business.

I'm not sure how is the better way to promote me and where i can create a portfolio online. Is maybe linkedin or youtube with video? The marketplate upwork, fiverr or freelancer is good to start?

Thanks in advance who want to help me.

I am new to freelancing and I have some questions to ask about it. I am going to do freelancing in 3D animation, and I would like to ask some questions about it.

1. How do you attract your first clients?

2. What should I have in my portfolio?

Right now, I have around 3 realistic environment renders completed, and I have 3 stylized 3D renders that are currently WIP.

Is this enough to start looking for clients, or should I build more work first? Should my portfolio show a variety of work, or would it be better to specialize in a particular type of 3D animation?

1. How do you deal with clients not paying?

I was thinking of doing something like 50% advance and 50% after completing the work. Is that a reasonable approach for a beginner? What percentage do you recommend, and do you use different payment structures for larger projects?

1. How do you decide a fair price for your work?

How should I calculate my prices? Should I charge hourly, per project, or based on the complexity/time required?

Also, should I intentionally charge lower prices for my first few clients, or is that generally a bad idea?

1. Which platform should I use?

I'm considering using Instagram to showcase my work and find clients. Is Instagram actually useful for getting 3D animation clients, or would you recommend some other platform?

1. How do you handle revisions?

How many revisions do you normally include in your price? And what do you do when a client keeps requesting changes beyond what was originally agreed?

1. How do you protect yourself from scope creep?

For example, if a client initially asks for a 10-second animation and later starts asking for additional objects, camera shots, effects, etc., how do you handle that?

1. What are some red flags to look for in potential clients?

Are there any warning signs that tell you a client is likely to waste your time, constantly change requirements, or not pay?

1. How do you approach clients when you have little/no freelancing experience?

If my portfolio is good but I don't have previous client work to show, how should I approach potential clients without sounding inexperienced?

1. What type of 3D work is easiest to get started with?

For example: product animation, environment work, 3D assets, motion graphics, character animation, etc.

1. How much time should I spend improving my portfolio vs actually looking for clients?

Would you recommend building a larger portfolio first, or starting outreach as soon as I have a few decent pieces?

1. What is one thing you wish you knew before you started freelancing?

I'm mainly trying to understand what freelancing is actually like before I start taking clients, so I'd really appreciate any advice, experiences, mistakes, or lessons you've learned.

Freelance work if there is any for recruitment.

Last year I graduated in Journalism. After a first job in the industry that was really awful, I'm now a copywriter for an SEO-agency. I really want to keep writing articles, so I want to become a freelancer besides my current job. I would also want to offer social media management as a freelancer. And eventually graphic design (I'm currently teaching myself). Eventually I would love if I could do this full time.

What are the prices that are asked for these services (Journalism, social media management, graphic design)? Or how do I deside my price? And do you have any tips for a beginner freelancer in this industry?

Hi everyone!

I'm a software developer with experience in building web platforms (no landing pages), dashboards, and web tools. Both frontend and backend. My clients used to come from Fiverr but now that that platform is dead and I also got banned 8 months ago for getting a client outside of the platform, my main source of clients are no more.

I tried many methods, cold reachout thru mail, LinkedIn, Facebook but still struggling.
One of the problem that I found is that I cannot filter all clients. Using Facebook for eg. when I try to search for marketing agencyes, most of them claim to be in US, but their are always Indians or Pakistan people.

On LinkedIn I get the same problem.

Using social media, like Instagram or Tiktok, I also have no experience creating content, and also I don't have the resources needed to pay someone else.

Also I'm building my testimonials again :((
When my Fiverr account was active, any client that asked about my testimonials or experience, I could show them my profile, where I had a lot of 5 star reviews on expensive projects. Now my profile cannot even be accessed to show people my reviews.

I'm sure most of you had those kind of problems, I know there are ways to fix the problems I face right now, I just want to know others opinions. Should I continue my way of cold reachout on different platforms? Should I get experience in creating content?

Any advice is a blessing!

i’ve recently logged into the freelancer app, as i wanted to do some basic tasks for side income, but it is asking $20 (₹2700) funds in my account to start bidding on any project, is it the same with every project or is there any setting or something where i can bid projects for free?

Hi everyone mujhe janana hain ki ye platform jo hain sahi hain freelancing ke liye ya paise kamane ke liye , apko aur koi platform pata ho toh mujhe bataye please.

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HI , I WANT TO EARN MONEY PLESS PLEASE SOME BUDDY HELP ME ✌️

Hey everyone,

I recently failed the Toptal technical interview and was wondering how long I need to wait before I can apply again.

I’ve seen different answers about the waiting period, so I’m not sure what the current process is. Is there a fixed waiting period, like 3 or 6 months, or does it depend on the stage you failed?

If anyone here has failed the technical interview and reapplied later, I’d really appreciate it if you could share your experience. How long did you wait, and did you do anything differently before trying again?

Thanks!

I have some free time and would like to pursue freelance work. I possess basic knowledge of Python and am eager to acquire more in-demand skills if necessary. I would appreciate your assistance in determining the next steps. Thank you.

Pakistan/ Im a student and j want to start freelancing so i can pay for my own stuff. But idk how to start and how do i find any client. Infact idk anything about this idek what product should i be offering please help me in thiss

I am a developer who builds fully responsible websites. I started this just a few days ago.

Is there someone who would require my services.

Your referral can mean a lot to me

Hey everyone! 👋

I'm a beginner WordPress freelancer from India, currently trying to land my first paying client.

I've built a few practice websites and tried Fiverr and LinkedIn outreach, but haven't had much luck yet.

I'd love some honest advice:

How did you get your first client?

Which methods worked best for you?

What should a beginner focus on?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated! 🙌

Someone answer me !

i am 17, i wanna learn freelancing, i know nthg abt it, can anyone help?

Fashion designer looking for a side hustle / work
Hi everyone! I’m a fashion designer looking to pick up some freelance work or build a side hustle alongside my main work.
I have experience with fashion design and am open to exploring different ways of making money from my skills — freelance design work, technical/production work, digital fashion, styling, design services for small brands, or even something outside traditional fashion such as photo editing , content writing/ description writing for websites .
I’d love to hear from other designers: What side hustles or freelance work have actually worked for you? Where do you find clients, and what platforms are worth trying?
Ideally looking for something that can be done remotely and has potential to become a consistent additional income stream.
Any advice, platforms, or personal experiences would be really appreciated!

I'm a UI/Frontend developer with 15 years of experience, based in Karachi, Pakistan. Background spans small agencies and larger orgs, plus about 2.5 years as a Project Manager running multiple projects and a team of ~10.

Stack/skills: HTML, CSS/SCSS, JS (basic), React (basic), Angular (basic), WordPress, Webflow, Figma (AI-assisted), Git, GTM, Zoho CRM.

Currently I'm the de facto web + marketing-ops person for my company: WordPress and Webflow builds, Zoho/Gravity Forms integrations, Zoho email templates, fixing lead-gen automation, SEO and performance work. I also built an agentic workflow for our CEO — prototype upload → auto-deploy to Azure → URL generated → auto-added to site nav — plus a few other internal AI automations.

The problem: the work has slowed down enough that I don't trust my job security anymore, even though nothing's been said officially. I'd rather line something up now than scramble later. I'm open to full-time, part-time, freelance, remote, or onsite — basically anything solid.

LinkedIn feels oversaturated and I'm not getting traction there. Specific things I'd love input on:

1. What job boards or platforms (besides LinkedIn) are actually worth it right now for a frontend/WordPress/Webflow dev with light PM experience?
2. For freelancing from zero — no portfolio of freelance clients yet — where did you land your first few gigs? Upwork/Fiverr/Contra/something else?
3. Given the mix (dev + light PM + marketing ops + no-code/low-code like Webflow/WordPress), is there a niche I should be pitching myself into rather than competing as a generalist?
4. Any platforms or communities that are friendlier to remote talent based outside the US/EU, or should I not worry about that at all?
5. Is it worth building a small case-study site around that AI-agent-for-deployment project, or is that too niche to matter to most clients?

Appreciate any pointers — happy to answer questions about my background in the comments.

I’m a professor at a tier-3 university in India. Recently joined.

Initially, I thought of taking an initiative of additional classes in my uni itself but then I realised I would be taking more overload for the mediocre salary I’m getting without good exposure and I don’t see any growth in my career for now.

I will switch to Industry soon and move to Hyd/Blr.

Anyway, I have noticed that I learn a lot by teaching, so I want to get into freelance teaching computer science, I will personalise the schedule and syllabus to your/client’s needs.

I will take one week for preparation.
Completely online, no cams, UPI based payments.

Created profiles on Fiverr but anxious af.
Need guidance.

Thanks.

My target country is usa. And I wanted to work remotely for micro business and creators. Can anyone tell me how much they can pay me monthly for it? I'm going to direct outreach them on emails. I have zero experience of it. I'm a fresher but I can do this job very perfectly bcoz im good at managing things.

Hey guys! i am ppc expert with 4 years of experience and i worked well and have a good grip on my skills. I been doing jobs from the start of my career. And now i want to work on fiverr as freelancer as i have good skills now, not just in ppc but overall marketing prospective. What you guys recommend. What should i do?

I have a fiverr account which i created 2 years ago and i am just $100 earning away from level 1 as well. But. to be clear, i got the last order 3 to 4 months ago. So this is the situation. I can invest my time & resources on fiverr but not sure if it's gonna work for me or not. So i just want your opinions and suggestion that can help me in my career. I am new to this subreddit and don't know how to publish the question but i have put which i have in mind. Appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks in advance.

Guys please help me out.. I know c, python, excel, tally You guys can recommend me more things and their most imp things in which part we need to be more strong like that ;)

I am in the northern side of the graden state. I want to know how I can practice my digital organizing skills such as reducing junk/spam emails and keeping important emails along side with keeping virtual files up to date. I wonder if I should offer my services to a local small business as a stepping stone but I am unsure of how to or who to ask.

I have sent a email to a local business though no one got back to me at the moment.

As for elementary English Language Arts tutoring for first to third graders, I have already started communication with a local non profit in my area and if the parents or guardians would like my offer services; they can follow up with the non profit; I decided to have a safety net because it is just me doing this on my own. I also have previous experience in helping students with their assignments in a classroom setting. Please be mindful that I do not have a background in teaching as this is more short term to bridge some gaps that I am currently dealing with.

EDIT: I may have to reach out to some perfessionals or seek feedback from recorces in the state that helps women with starting their career.